Libya to maintain silence on oil deals

Libya will not reveal the details of its oil sales this year stepping back from pledges to deliver greater transparency after the corruption of the pre-revolutionary regime.

Oil producers commonly keep the details of crude deals secret, yet Libyan officials promised to publish the details of oil deals after over 40 years of secrecy under deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The state firm revealed who would buy Libya's oil in 2012 and began releasing information on prices and volumes of oil shipments on its website - but this lasted just two months, ending in 2011. Libya's NOC chairman, Nuri Berruien, said any secrecy clauses were introduced at the request of clients, not the NOC, and that most of last year's buyers would continue to purchase its oil. The state firm would resume publishing details on its yearly activities, he said.

Details on the identities of Libya's oil buyers this year have emerged through a survey of traders who were customers last year, but many are reluctant to disclose the volumes they have been allocated, or say that details are still being finalized.

Last year, the NOC provided a breakdown on allocations, revealing that trading houses had won around 9 percent of Libya's full pre-war exports of 1.3 million barrels per day.